The monthly progress meeting of Saudi Aramco Ex-Employees Association (SAEEA) was held on February 24, 2018 at SAEEA very active Member and great supporter, Mr. Asif Mirza. This was SAEEA 2nd meeting of current year 2018.

There are only a few good schools in Karachi and Generation’s School is one of them. The school is divided into three sections - Junior, Middle and Senior. Zoya Imran and Zara Imran, my granddaughters, are in the Junior section.

Even before arriving in Saudi Arabia as a 22-year-old engineer on my first assignment, I was captivated by the ancient oasis town of Hofuf. It is mentioned in the Bible, and I had read that the old market hadn’t changed much for millennia, so it was one of the places I looked forward to visiting in the Middle East.

Central to the greatness of Saudi Aramco are the talented and dedicated people upon whose shoulders the company has been built. Over the years, tens of thousands of Aramcons—Saudis and ExPats alike—have made manifold contributions to the company’s success.

Among the Marché Central's colors and fresh smells of fruits and vegetables, Hamza Ayari sets up, on an average day, about 10 portraits. He invites some people as they shop near his stand; others have heard about his photography either by word of mouth or through local media, and they seek him out.

Saudi Aramco participates in Saudi Arabia Smart Grid Conference and Exhibition, signs strategic partnership agreement. Prompted by its commitment and pioneering role in stimulating development in the Kingdom to help achieve Vision 2030, Saudi Aramco sponsored and participated in the recently held conference Saudi Arabia Smart Grid Conference in Jiddah.

Three months prior to the end of my "tour of duty," I met a young man from Syracuse, New York, named Charles Felice. This was his second assignment to Arabia and he worked in the Accounting Department. He had a little sports car Singer that he drove around camp.

Ras Tanura Refinery (RTR) recently celebrated the successful completion of a major turnaround and inspection (T&I), with proper planning and a collaborative effort from everyone involved credited for the success.

“Those of us who have survived the Saudi Aramco experience without needing therapy all have fantastic tales to tell.” So, in good humor, wrote Everard (Eddy) Edoo, Badge Number 168957, in a recent email to Aramco ExPats.

See the February 5, 2018 list of registrations at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa. When your Austin Hafla 2018 Registration forms and payment are received, you become an official attendee. See you in September!

Recent enhancements to Saudi Aramco’s Customer Care Center Besides, including a centralized function to process customer requests have made it easier and quicker for domestic customers to gain access to refined products.

After working a year with ARAMCO you were entitled to a short leave of absence. Reservations, itinerary and plans were always made in advance for this welcome occasion. It was the fall of 1952 and I had made plans to visit Cairo, Rome, Switzerland, and Istanbul.

Saudi Aramco is participating in the 32nd Janadriyah National Heritage and Culture Festival, organized by the Ministry of National Guard, and inaugurated by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on Wednesday, 7 February 2018.

Saudi Arabia has charted a new course of economic diversification away from an overdependence on oil and gas in its Vision 2030 road map. Industrial enablers will be key to Saudi Arabia’s success in this endeavor and in heavy industrial terms, they don’t come much bigger than the maritime industry.

On January 28, 2018, the Association of Former Saudi Aramco Employees of Lahore, Pakistan gathered for their 127th party at one of the finest hotels in Lahore - Tabbaq. As this was their 4th party of the year, family including children were invited to attend.

In the Sarychat Ertash State Nature Reserve in the Tien Shan mountains, near Kyrgyzstan’s border with China, a male snow leopard (ak ilbirs, or “white panther,” in Kyrgyz), peers over a snowdrift. A moment later, he was darted with a tranquilizer, documented, fitted with a tracking collar and released unharmed.

The secretary “pool” was in a building in Dhahran. One day a tall, handsome man came in and said that I was to be moved to his office in Abqaiq, forty miles into the desert where a community of many families and homes was built around a water separation center. I later discovered that this man was Jack Symons, Superintendent of the Exploration Engineers Department.